Conveyer apparatus



s sheets-sheet 1. l

' (Model.)

G. C. BLICKENSDERFER.

, GONVBYBR APPARATUS.

PatentedApr. 17.1888.l

ATTEST.'

(Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2;

G. o. BLICKENS'DBRFER.

'CONVEYERAPPARATU Patented Apnlv; 1888.

GONVBYBR APPARATUS.

,Uv VEJvToR Y Patgnted Apr. 17,1888.

N. PETERS, Phmumognphe'. wuningum n. c4

` DERFER, a/citizen ofthe United States, resid- UNITED STATES- enon'en c. Bilrcknnsnnerns,

coNvi-:YER APPARATUS.

i OFFIcE or srAMroRD, CNNECTCUHT? I g sPEcIHcATroN'formi-ng part of Letters Patent No. 381.322; dated Apru 17,1888.

To all whom/it Ymay concern.-

Be it knownthat I, GEORGE C. BLIcKENs-V ing at Stamford, in the county of vFairfield and State of Gon necticut,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyor Apparaf tus; 'and I do herebydeclare the following to ybe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable o thers skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same.

rlhis invention relates to that class of conveyer apparatusin which there are a suspended track or way, a car or trolley running on said way, and'means for sustaining the article to be carried on said trolley 5" and it consists in certain improvements Y in the construction thereof, as will hereinafter be fully'described, and pointed out in the claims. Gonveyer apparatus of this class has' heretofore been made wherein the car or Vtrolley is propelled by drawing on a propelling cord orv wire which lies substantially parallel with the track. f For example, see Fatents Nos. 338,704and 342,557.

The present invention relates .particularly to this type of conv'eyer, and consists,chiey, in'improvements in the arrangement or adj ust` ment of the propelling` wire or cord.

` erably made of pipe secured at the top to the ceiling and stayed byl stays a'a. They are of s suflicient length to bring the track to .the

proper height. v

.B is the` track, which extendsV from hanger to hanger,and is connected therewith by clips Af A', in one or both of which there may be a-`tightening`-drum and ratchet, lHB2, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. yThis track is held taut and fixed at eachl end; ybut by reason ofy its elasticity it Vmay be deflected slightly by pulling upon it laterally.

.pelling cord or wire.

Ateach end of the track'I place a buffer, b, for obvious reasons.

Immediately above or below the. clips Af, I place other clips, A2, bearing catches. These clips, however, may bejsolid-that is, in onek pieceawith the clips A', if desired. The-es` sential featureis'that the catches bein proper position toengage with catches C?, which are on the car. g .f

C is theirame of the car or trolley,and"0 is a receptac'lesecured to said frame. The frame C embraces the track B, and it is provided with sheaves c c above the track and sheaves c c below the'track. Onthe top of the frame C there'is a'fifth sheave, c?, for the slack pro# Onthe track-hangers A, or at some other convenient'point, I put sheaves A3 Ae/ver` which'the slack propelling cord .orvwire' D? passes. The propelling cord or wire, after,

passing over the sheaves A3, comesdown inside the hollow hanger A and terminates in handles D', which should bev within convenient reach of the attendants,y and of such size that when the vcord is drawn upon from one end `the handle at the other end will hold'the cord f lfrom being drawn up into the pipes. IHowever adjusted, the cord should be so arrangedfthat y when pulled on at eitherend theother end will be held fast against suchpull..

fIn Fig. 4 the construction is variedby placi-` ing the propellingwire D below the track and,

changing the form of the trolley-frame accord- As shown in the drawings, the wireor cord l D. is provided with means whereby it can be drawn taut at either end; but this is not essenp tial necessarily, foras by drawing upon it from one endalone the car can be made to move in" either direction, it may be alwaysrv operated from one end only.

In Fig. 1 dotted lines show the wire or cord y f D drawn taut,'ar 1d it'there appears that when V n drawn taut, the effect upon the car will be the f same-na'mely, to draw it to the Vmiddle'point between the two ends of the cord or wire D, or, in other words, to a point, where the action of the cord D upon the car is the same from each side-that is to say, it is acting directly vertical.

By noting the position of parts in full lines in Fig. 1 it will be seen that by drawing on either handle D D continuously the car,when freed from thecatch, will be drawn into the position shown by dotted lines, and that when it reaches that point it will stop, as the force exerted by the cord D is alike on each side and is acting directly vertical on the car. Now, then, if the attendant pulls sharply on the cord D when the-car is at either end of the track, and then lets go and allows the cord to slacken before the point is reached where the pull is directly vertical on the car, the car will receive suiiicient momentum to carry it from end to end of the track. In this manner a person standing at one end of the track, by giving the cord D a sharp pull, may send the car from him to the other end of the track, and then by giving it another pull he may bring the ear back to him from the other end.

It will be observed that it makes no diierence whether the points AB A3 be equally distant from the track B, for if one were higher than the other the only eiiect would be that the point where the vertical pull on the car occurs would not be in the center of the track, but nearer the point A3 which is nearest the track; and it will be noticed that the farther the points A3 are from the track Bthe greater the force with which the car can be propelled A easily, and also that both points A3 should be at a distance from the track greater than the pulley C2.

The catches A and C, as the car reaches the end of track, engage automatically, and they are disengaged by the action of the cord or wire D. The catches A2 and C are both rigid-that is to say, neither of them springs, as is common in such catches. All the springing is derived from the track B. The said track, being taut, has considerable elasticity and can be sprung up, and it does spring up suiciently to allow the catches to engage and disengage. It will be seen by observingthe car in Fig. 1 that when the cord D is drawn upon the car islifted, and that the wireB will yield upwardly and the catches will be disengaged, and by observing Fig. 4 it will be seen that as the cord D is pulled the car is drawn down upon, and as the Wire B will yield the catches will disengage.

Vhen 'my device is used in stores for conveying cash or parcels, the salesman at one end ofthe line will draw on the cord D to send the car to the cashiers desk, and the attendant there will draw on it to send the'car backA to the salesman; but if the cord should be so arranged as to be drawn on from' one end only, then the salesman (if it is at his end that the cord is to be drawn on) will send the car to the cashiersdesk, and when he receives a signal that the Icar is ready to return he will again draw the cord and bring the car back to him.

I am aware that a conveyer apparatus has been used having two taut-wire tracks passing between sheaves on the trolley, which tracks are made separable at each end, so that as they are separated they will propel the car from the point where they are separated. This device isdifferent from mine, in that the track in my device is Iixed and the propelling-cord is separable from it at each end. y (See, for example, Patent No. 357,449.) I am also aware that in Fig. 8'of said patent there are shown two tautwire tracks one of which is separable from the other, and this also is different from my devlce.

What I claim as new is 1. In a conveyer apparatus, the combination of a fixed track extending between terminal stations, a car on said track, a slack propeller cord or wire extending between said stations adapted to be moved bodily and to engage said car, and supports fixed at a distance from the track to hold the propeller-cord in a position to propel the car.

2. In a conveyer apparatus, the combination of a iixed track extending between terminal stations, a car on said track which has running-wheels embracing said track and a special propelling-sheave, a slack propeller cord or Wire extending between said stations adapted to be moved bodily longitudinally and to engage with said special propelling-sheave on said car, and fixed supports at a distance from the track at both said terminal stations to hold the propeller-cord in position to act propulsively on said car when drawn upon from either end.

3. In a conveyer apparatus, the combination of a fixed track extending between terminal stations, a car on said track, a slack propelling cord or wire extending between said stations out of contact with the track and adapted to engage the car, and fixed supports for said propeller-cord at a distance from said track, all substantially as described.

4. In a conveyer apparatus, the combination of terminal stations, a track connecting said stations, a car running on said track having a special propeller-sheave on said car, sheaves ixed at said stations always at a `greater distance from said track than the propellersheave on said car, and a slack propeller cord or wire having limited longitudinal bodily movement, which passes about the sheaves at the stations and the propeller-sheave on the car.

5. In a conveyer apparatus, the combination of a track extending between terminal stations, a car on said track having a propellersheave, a slack propeller cord or wire extending between the stations, having limited longitudinal bodily movement, and provided with handles or pulls whereby it can be drawn taut from either end, and supports xed at a [OOV IIO

of a flxedexible track,van iniiexible catch: 5 xed at each end of said track,-a` car running on said track having inexible catches, and a propelling cord or Wire acting upon said car, v4; which when drawn Vupon will liftthe car and deiect the track, and thereby disengage said zo j catches. Y Y Y In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE or BLIGKENSDERFER.

,Witnesses:,. Y

JNmK. HALLooK, M. EADAMS; 

